TRAIL RUNNING |
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Rugged volcanic mountains contribute to this being one of the toughest trail races in the world … |
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It all started when I Googled “ world ’ s toughest trail run ,” and almost every list I came across included The Grand Raid , an annual event that takes place on the Island of Reunion , which is very close to , but very different , from Mauritius , to the east of Madagascar . I found the pictures of towering volcanic mountains , lush greenery and remote singletrack trails intriguing and enticing . The more I read and heard about the event and the island , the more I was inspired to attempt it . The Grand Raid offers four options , the Zembrocal Trail ( 148km relay for four runners , with 7990m of ascent ), the Mascareignes ( 72km with 3880m ), the Trail de Bourbon ( 109km with 6260m ) and the big daddy , the La Diagonale Des Fous , or “ The Diagonal of Fools .” It ’ s 165km long with 10,210m of ascent , starting in the city of St Pierre on the south side of the island , and as the name suggests , it follows a roughly diagonal route across the island , going up , down , over , through and along the towering mountains , deep valleys , rivers , canyons , ridges and dense tropical forests in between .
State of Denial
After discussing it with my wife , Petro – who , as always , encouraged me to do it – and calculating a rough budget , I bought an entry into the draw for a place in The Diagonal . Unlike a certain local race that took me five attempts and a COVID pandemic to finally get in , my name was drawn and I had my entry ! I then prepared as well as any full-time employed , middle-aged , weekend warrior could . With a good base that included two hundred-milers last year , two full Ironmans ( Ironmen ?) in the past 11 months , two 100km-plus trail runs in the last five months , the Comrades Marathon two months earlier , and plenty of distance , elevation and quality training in between , I was as ready as I ’ d ever be .
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Since I would be travelling alone , I had to work out my logistics carefully , which was made a bit tricky by all the race communication being in French . The same goes , generally , for any information about the island , and a lot gets lost in Google translation . I managed to work it all out , though , and barring a last-minute injury , I was good to go . Then I suffered a last-minute injury . Or rather , a flare up of a very old back injury . I was distraught , and when , instead of improving , I worsened it during a gym workout six days before the race , I was forced to face the fact that I would probably be going on a lonely , FOMO-ravaged , island holiday rather than a running one .
I still packed my running kit , even if it was just to experience some of the race and surrounding vibes , which I had heard are something special . I didn ’ t know whether I would be able to run 100 metres , never mind 100 miles . I made no attempt to even run a few paces , I think because I feared the worst and preferred a state of denial . In hindsight , I was bit of a spoiled brat as I glumly and near to tears packed my bags for an island holiday . Due to the denial I was experiencing , I even stopped following the race updates on social media and ignored all the good luck messages sent to me by my friends .
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Taking the Plunge
On the Tuesday evening I said goodbye to the family and headed off to the airport . The travel entailed a short flight from Cape Town to Jo ’ burg , and then a very late-night flight to Reunion , landing just after 5am local time on the Wednesday . After picking up my hired car and nervously hitting the highway in rush hour traffic on the ‘ wrong ’ side of the road , I drove around the island to St Pierre and race registration . I was mesmerised by spectacular scenery and engineering throughout the drive .
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Queuing was the order of the day at pre-race registration !
St Pierre was buzzing with Grand Raid excitement , although for me , the excitement was somewhat tempered by the insanely long registration queues . We queued for an ID check , then queued for kit check , queued for drop bags and race vests , queued for the event merchandise shop , queued for sponsored goodies , and then queued for satellite tracking – all in all , about three-and-a-half hours of queuing , the day before the race !
The next morning , I double-checked my kit , including my two drop bags , and then unsuccessfully tried to get some shuteye before heading to the start . When the shuttle departed from St Denis at 3:30pm , a
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The 9pm start is one big festive celebration of running that the islanders embrace |
Images : Anton Neethling & courtesy Reunion Island Tourism Board |
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… but it is makes it one of the most breath-taking trail races in the world |